1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of molding pieces of meat, such as crab meat, into formed lumps.
2. Background Art
Jumbo lumps of certain meat, such as crab meat for example, are more commercially valuable and command a higher sales price than smaller lumps or loose flakes thereof. In the instance of crab meat, in order to get the jumbo lumps of meat from the two back fins of the crab, professional pickers are required who have acquired the skill of removing the jumbo lumps intact. Having professional pickers remove jumbo lumps intact is costly and time consuming, so processes for molding smaller pieces of meat together to create formed jumbo lumps have been developed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,385 to Roberts et al. discloses feeding loose meat into a hopper which is then discharged into cavities of a mold plate for forming the loose meat into lumps.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,046 to Briddell discloses placing a mixture of partially cooked and substantially cooked crab meat into die cavities for molding the mixture of crab meat particles into a lump.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,017 to Yueh discloses preparing fabricated seafood products, such as shrimp and lobster tail. A mixture of partially cooked fish and a paste of finely comminuted fresh fish are formed into a desired shape.
The present invention differs from the processes described in the aforementioned patents in that formed lumps of pure meat are prepared without the use of a paste or binder containing other substances and the formed lumps are prepared using a mixture of cooked meat and raw meat.